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Cut Copy on Carson Daly

Cut Copy performing their song “Lights and Music” (one of my personal favorites) on the Carson Daly show.

Dear Science,

Well, its been a few days since TV on the Radio’s new album, Dear Science, was released. I picked up a copy the day it was came out and have not stopped listening since.

As soon as I finished my first listen straight through, I knew that this is going to be one of the top albums of the year (if not, the top album of the year). Everything about Dear Science is masterfully executed: from lyrics, to instrumentals, to production…I can’t find a single flaw.

Its not every day that you hear an album and immediately realize its greatness, but TV on the Radio has found the perfect balance of accessibility and experimentalism on this album. Heavy lyrics are often perfectly complemented by shiny guitar almost reminiscent of Sly and the Family Stone with a grove that just makes you want to get up and dance (how many experimental indie bands can you say that about?).

TV on the Radio proves that in an industry filled with cookie-cutter emo and generic pop music a band can be consistent in delivering originality. Dear Science definitely sounds different (the band has progressed so much) than Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes or even Return to Cookie Mountain, but they still maintain an avant-garde style that is distinctly theirs.

If you haven’t heard it yet, don’t waste another minute…get Dear Science now..its spectacular.

New TVOTR

The new TV on the Radio album, Dear Science, is set for release tomorrow and its already looking like its going to be topping some best of 2008 lists. Pitchfork gave the album a nearly unprecedented 9.2 out of 10, which means its going to be epic.

Not to mention the songs currently posted on the TVOTR MySpace page are nothing short of amazing. Get psyched.

Good stuff from Justice

I don’t know if it was their headlining spot at Monolith, or just the fact that they make great music, but I’ve been on a Justice kick lately.

They have some really great tracks on their myspace page called Planisphere Parts 1-4. Its an original composition they put together for the Dior Homme Summer 2009 Fashion show and its nothing short of epic. If you have the time to sit down and listen to the whole thing straight through, I’d definitely recommend it.

I also stumbled across this remix of D.A.N.C.E. with rapper Wale, and its almost better than the original version of the song. Awesome.

In my CD player…

Wait…CD player? That’s so 1999. I meant, what’s on my ‘recently played’ list in iTunes.



I just got the new Common Market album, Tobacco Road, and its solid. I’m always impressed with the optimistic lyrics and airtight production that comes from this Seattle duo. Start to finish, this album is chock full of great beats.



Calexico also just released a new album, titled Carried to Dust, and I can’t stop listening. Every time these guys release an album they seem to reinvent themselves in an even more intriguing way than on any their previous recordings. I don’t even know how to best describe the musical styling of this record…southwestern folk/jazz with a little flamenco thrown in maybe? Regardless of how you want to categorize this album, I guarantee it will blow you away.



Finally, I had to throw in an oldie, but goodie that the rainy weather last week got me back into…DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing. This album paved the way for most DJs who are spinning now. I started listening to this more because the lo-fi, dark undertones went well with the cold, rainy weather, but I’ve found myself putting it on more and more regardless of whether or not the sun is shining.

That’s all for now. More to come later.

I’m Back

I’ve been so busy the past couple months that my blog has gotten totally neglected. Shame on me. So much good stuff has been going on in the music world, and I haven’t written a single post about it. Time for a change.

Bands with cool videos and even cooler web sites

My friend Steph sent me this link to a video from a band I don’t listen to a whole lot.

This is Architecture in Helsinki’s video for their track “Like It or Not.” Its really original and creative, not to mention the music is good. It definitely makes me want to listen to one of their full albums. Check out the video at the bottom of this post.

If you’re not familiar with the band, their web site is awesome and definitely worth checking out. I’ve never seen a band do anything quite like it, but they do a great job coercing the user to interact in an interesting way without getting too confusing.

Now that I’m thinking about bands with cool web sites, Subtle, one of my personal favorites, is going to be releasing a new album this month and has put up an online graphic novel that is jam-packed with awesome stuff from their new album. Even if you aren’t familiar with the band, its worth a peek simply because the flash and graphic design is great (something I’ve come to expect from Subtle), so waste an extra 30 seconds online clicking around exitingARM.com today.

Oh yeah, here’s the Architecture in Helsinki video.

When good publications go bad…

For a long time I’ve loved RS for their great writing, hard-hitting features and thoughtful (albeit liberal) political articles.
However, I just saw the cover of the newest issue of Rolling Stone (that is probably sitting in my mail box as I type) and I threw up in my mouth a little bit.
None other than the four main characters of The Hills dressed in skanky little hot pants were staring back at me…like, OMG, were Heidi and Lauren really on the set of the same photo shoot?
Is this some sort of stunt for Rolling Stone to try and steal the trashy mainstream audience Blender currently caters to? Did the editors think they should shoot more for the middle-school girl demographic?
But, more importantly, why is a respected music publication wasting my money and time with a feature about garbage that belongs in Maxim?
The headline of the article captured my thoughts exactly…”Are They For Real?”
Its depressing because I can read 80% of Rolling Stone’s content online and now it seems that the other 20% is becoming drivel about MTV reality shows.
Thanks anyway Rolling Stone, I prefer music news to celebrity gossip, but good luck competing with Blender…maybe you can beat them to a 12 page feature on the editor-in-chief of The Paper.

Yo Gabba Gabba and The Aquabats

Until yesterday, I just thought “Yo Gabba Gabba!” was another run-of-the-mill kid’s show on Nickelodeon. Turns out there’s a lot more to it than I thought.

It all started when I was reading Pitchfork Media and I saw a new Shins video. After I clicked the link and began watching the video, it immediately became clear that the Shins were performing not on Saturday Night Live or Jay Leno, but on Yo Gabba Gabba!, a children’s show I only knew of because it was a recurring joke on The Soup. To make things even more confusing, they were performing an original song they had written specifically for the show.

I didn’t know what to think, so I did some research with the aid of Google and discovered a link to my younger years that I had no idea existed.

The creators of Yo Gabba Gabba are two members of my favorite band for the duration of middle and high school: THE AQUABATS! As I did more research, I found that they created the show because they were both young parents and wanted a program their children could watch that would compare to children’s classics like Sesame Street. So, why not introduce young children to music worth listening to while they were at it?

I couldn’t believe the list of cameos when I read it. Rapper Biz Markie is a recurring character on the show with a segment entitled, “Biz’s Beat of the Day.” Rahzel, the human beatbox made famous for his work with The Roots, has made an appearance. Shiny Toy Guns, more appropriately renamed The Shinys, have performed…the list goes on. Even The Aquabats themselves have performed on the show…awesome.

Its so refreshing to see musicians doing something you can tell they truly care about, and interesting to see that not all celebrities react to having kids by going insane, dating paparazzi and ending up in a mental institution. I hope the tradition continues and Yo Gabba Gabba inspires the creation of more children’s shows that can be enjoyed by kids and parents alike.

New music from CSS

Today CSS, the electro-pop band made famous when their song, “Music is My Hot Hot Sex,” was used in an iPod commercial, released the first single from their upcoming album online.
The track is called “Rat is Dead (Rage)” and can be downloaded from the band’s web site, or a number of blogs around the Internet.
I was looking forward to hearing the new single because I’m a big fan of the synth-heavy, dance-rock vibe that made CSS’ last album so fun to listen to.
Unfortunately, this song was a huge letdown. It seems that CSS has completely abandoned their electronic sound in favor of very generic sounding, Donnas-style pop-punk…yuck.
I can’t say expected something really spectacular, but one of my pet peeves when it comes to music is when a unique band completely changes their sound to something mediocre and run-of-the-mill.
If you’re disappointed about this song being no good, check out Does It Offend You, Yeah? A great up and coming dance-rock band that will make you forget all about CSS.